Comment RE: Wired: The Eternal Value of Privacy (Score 1) 728
It's got to be more fundamental than all those reasons. I agree with them all. The problem is that when you say half of them the same people who say it doesn't matter if you "have nothing to hide" will tell you you are being paranoid.
For me the basis for privacy infringements being unconstitutional is very simple: The fourth ammendment clearly limits the governments powers to perform searches on its people to situations when there is probable cause and a warrant has been issued. If the government only has power to conduct a search under these circumstances, then of course the have no power to perform searches on citizens in general. They don't even have probable cause to do that.
The problem is that explaining it in terms of the constitution isn't enough for many people. I just have this gut feeling that there is a fundamental argument that should explain to people why it's unethical for the government to infringe on its citizens privacy except in cases of sufficient probable cause when a judge has issued a search warrant. There has got to be a more funcamental argument that explains why privacy is an unallienable right.
For me the basis for privacy infringements being unconstitutional is very simple: The fourth ammendment clearly limits the governments powers to perform searches on its people to situations when there is probable cause and a warrant has been issued. If the government only has power to conduct a search under these circumstances, then of course the have no power to perform searches on citizens in general. They don't even have probable cause to do that.
The problem is that explaining it in terms of the constitution isn't enough for many people. I just have this gut feeling that there is a fundamental argument that should explain to people why it's unethical for the government to infringe on its citizens privacy except in cases of sufficient probable cause when a judge has issued a search warrant. There has got to be a more funcamental argument that explains why privacy is an unallienable right.
